---
title: "Desegregation — AP African American Studies Definition"
description: "Desegregation is the dismantling of legally enforced racial segregation in the 1950s-60s. It expanded Black education and fueled the Black middle class on the AP exam."
canonical: "https://fiveable.me/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/desegregation"
type: "key-term"
subject: "AP African American Studies"
unit: "Unit 4"
---

# Desegregation — AP African American Studies Definition

## Definition

Desegregation is the process of eliminating legally enforced racial segregation in institutions, especially schools, during the 1950s and 1960s; in AP African American Studies, it explains how expanded educational access gradually increased Black college graduates and helped grow the Black middle class (EK 4.15.A.2).

## What It Is

Desegregation is the dismantling of laws and policies that kept Black and white Americans in separate institutions. In the 1950s and 1960s, court rulings (most famously *[Brown v. Board of Education](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/brown-v-board-of-education "fv-autolink")* in 1954) and civil rights legislation began tearing down the legal walls of [Jim Crow](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/20-science-medicine-and-technology-in-black-communities/study-guide/GGvwKPixbIHELH9o "fv-autolink"), especially in schools.

In the [AP African American Studies](/ap-african-american-studies "fv-autolink") CED, desegregation shows up in Topic 4.15 as a *cause with long-term effects*. EK 4.15.A.2 frames it this way: desegregation expanded educational opportunities, which gradually increased the number of Black college graduates. By 2019, 23 percent of African Americans had earned college degrees. That educational pipeline is one of the engines behind the growth of the Black middle class. But the CED pairs that progress with a warning. Desegregation opened doors to education, yet earlier discrimination in housing and employment had already blocked generational wealth-building, so the racial wealth gap persisted. In 2016, median Black family wealth was $17,150 compared to $171,000 for white families.

## Why It Matters

Desegregation lives in [Unit 4](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4 "fv-autolink") (Movements and Debates), Topic 4.15, supporting learning objective AP African American Studies 4.15.A, which asks you to explain how economic growth in Black communities was both promoted and hindered in the second half of the twentieth century. Desegregation is your go-to 'promoted' example. It expanded education, which grew the pool of Black college graduates and professionals. The 'hindered' side comes from housing and employment discrimination that limited generational wealth. The exam loves this both-sides structure, so know desegregation as the opening move in a chain that runs from school access to college degrees to the [Black middle class](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/black-middle-class "fv-autolink") to expanded political representation. If you can trace that chain, you've basically mastered the analytical core of Topic 4.15.

## Connections

### [Black middle class (Unit 4)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/black-middle-class)

Desegregation is the first link in the chain that produces the Black middle class. More access to schools meant more Black college graduates, which meant more professionals, higher incomes, and a growing middle class by the late twentieth century. When a question asks what *promoted* Black [economic growth](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/15-economic-growth-and-black-political-representation/study-guide/S0nB9HBk5CHVRz7U "fv-autolink"), desegregation plus education is the answer the CED wants.

### [Voting Rights Act of 1965 (Unit 4)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/voting-rights-act-of-1965)

Think of these as twin barrier-removers. Desegregation dismantled barriers to education while the [Voting Rights](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-3/1-the-reconstruction-amendments/study-guide/xCbCharSeaexxarp "fv-autolink") Act dismantled barriers to the ballot. The CED links them directly, since Black political representation expanded 'alongside the growth of the Black middle class' that desegregation helped create.

### [Black voting power (Unit 4)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/black-voting-power)

Desegregation's educational gains and the Voting Rights Act's legal protections worked together. Between 1970 and 2006 the number of Black elected officials grew dramatically, and figures like [Shirley Chisholm](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/shirley-chisholm "fv-autolink") and the Congressional Black Caucus turned that voting power into federal influence.

### [Brown v. Board of Education (Unit 4)](/ap-african-american-studies/key-terms/brown-v-board-of-education)

Brown (1954) is the Supreme Court case that kicked off school desegregation by ruling 'separate but equal' unconstitutional in public education. On the exam, Brown is the *event* and desegregation is the *process* that followed, so be ready to identify Brown as the case that eventually led to rising Black college graduation rates.

## On the AP Exam

Desegregation appeared on the 2024 short-answer question (SAQ Q3), so this is a term the exam uses verbatim, not just background vocabulary. Multiple-choice questions typically test the cause-and-effect chain rather than the definition itself. Expect stems asking which economic trend correlates with rising Black college graduates after desegregation (answer: growth of the Black middle class), which Supreme Court case expanded educational opportunities in the 1950s (Brown v. Board), or why the wealth gap persisted *despite* desegregation (earlier housing and employment discrimination blocked generational wealth). The key skill is explaining desegregation as a turning point with both real gains and real limits. A strong SAQ response names a specific outcome, like the 23 percent college-degree figure by 2019, and pairs it with the persistent wealth disparity ($17,150 vs. $171,000 in median family wealth in 2016).

## desegregation vs Integration

Desegregation is the legal and policy process of removing forced separation, like striking down segregation laws and admitting Black students to formerly all-white schools. Integration goes further. It means actually achieving meaningful mixing and equal participation in institutions and communities. A school can be legally desegregated on paper while remaining largely separate in practice. The CED's framing in Topic 4.15 captures exactly this gap: desegregation expanded opportunity, but it did not erase the structural disparities (like the racial wealth gap) that full integration would require closing.

## Key Takeaways

- Desegregation is the elimination of legally enforced racial segregation in institutions, especially schools, during the 1950s and 1960s.
- Per EK 4.15.A.2, desegregation expanded educational opportunities and gradually increased Black college graduates, reaching 23 percent of African Americans with college degrees by 2019.
- Desegregation helped grow the Black middle class, but earlier housing and employment discrimination meant the racial wealth gap persisted, with median Black family wealth at $17,150 versus $171,000 for white families in 2016.
- Brown v. Board of Education (1954) is the Supreme Court case most directly tied to school desegregation on the exam.
- Desegregation works alongside the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in Topic 4.15, with education and voting access together expanding Black political representation in the late twentieth century.
- On the exam, frame desegregation as progress with limits: it promoted Black economic growth in education while structural discrimination continued to hinder wealth accumulation.

## FAQs

### What is desegregation in AP African American Studies?

Desegregation is the process of eliminating legally enforced racial segregation in institutions, particularly schools, during the 1950s and 1960s. In Topic 4.15, it matters because it expanded educational opportunities, gradually increasing Black college graduates and helping grow the Black middle class.

### Did desegregation close the racial wealth gap?

No. Desegregation expanded education and helped grow the Black middle class, but earlier discrimination in housing and employment had already blocked generational wealth-building. In 2016, median Black family wealth was $17,150 compared to $171,000 for white families.

### What's the difference between desegregation and integration?

Desegregation removes the legal barriers forcing racial separation, while integration means achieving actual equal participation and mixing in institutions. A school can be desegregated by law but still not truly integrated in practice.

### What Supreme Court case started school desegregation?

Brown v. Board of Education (1954), which ruled segregated public schools unconstitutional. On the exam, Brown is the case most directly tied to expanded educational opportunities for African Americans in the 1950s and the eventual rise in Black college graduation rates.

### How is desegregation connected to Black political representation?

Desegregation's educational gains fueled the Black middle class, which grew alongside the voting power protected by the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Together they drove a dramatic increase in Black elected officials between 1970 and 2006, including milestones like Shirley Chisholm becoming the first Black woman in Congress in 1968.

## Related Study Guides

- [4.15 Economic Growth and Black Political Representation](/ap-african-american-studies/unit-4/15-economic-growth-and-black-political-representation/study-guide/S0nB9HBk5CHVRz7U)

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